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The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sugar in the United States

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The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sugar in the United States THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES July 2006 This report was done through a cooperative agreement between the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses (OEPNU), Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Louisiana State University (LSU). Principal authors of this report are Dr. Hossein Shapouri, OEPNU/OCE, USDA and Dr. Michael Salassi, J. Nelson Fairbanks Professor of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, LSU Agricultural Center. The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sugar in the United States Page Summary and Conclusions . iii List of Tables and Figures . vii Introduction . 1 The U.S. Ethanol Industry . 2 Price Outlook for Ethanol . 3 Feedstock Available for Ethanol Production . 4 Byproducts of the Ethanol and Sugar Industries . 11 Starch and Sugar Content of Grains and Sugar Crops. 12 Feedstock Production Costs . 12 Ethanol Yields from Alternative Feedstocks . 16 Net Feedstock Costs per Gallon of Ethanol . 18 Processing Costs per Gallon of Ethanol . 21 Ethanol Processing Costs in Other Countries . 27 Capital Expenditure Costs . 32 Potential Location of Sugar Ethanol Plants . 34 Ethanol - New Technologies in Production and Conversion . 35 U.S. Sugar Policy and Market Outlook for Sugar . 39 References . 42 Appendix A – Ethanol Yields from Sucrose . 46 ii Summary and Conclusions Ethanol is a high-octane fuel which is used primarily as a gasoline additive and extender. The reduction in use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) due to its environmental problems caused by groundwater contamination and surging prices for petroleum-based fuels are dramatically increasing the demand for ethanol and the interest in ethanol production in the United States. Ethanol can be produced from carbohydrates such as sugar, starch, and cellulose by fermentation using yeast or other organisms. The purpose of this report is to investigate the economic feasibility of producing ethanol from sugar feedstocks in the United States. These sugar feedstocks include: (1) sugarcane juice, (2) sugar beet juice, (3) cane or beet molasses, (4) raw sugar and (5) refined sugar. Estimated costs of producing ethanol from these feedstocks are presented along with a discussion of other factors that may influence the economic feasibility of converting sugar feedstocks into ethanol. Comparisons are made with grain feedstocks, specifically corn. The United States produced 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2005, up from 3.4 billion gallons in 2004. Currently, corn is the primary feedstock being used in the production process. In 2005, Brazil, produced 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol, up from 4.0 billion gallons in 2004. Production of ethanol in Brazil utilizes sugar and molasses from sugarcane as a primary feedstock and thus demonstrates the technical feasibility of sugar-to-ethanol production. Corn-based ethanol accounts for approximately 97 percent of the total ethanol produced in the United States. U.S. ethanol conversion rates utilizing corn as the feedstock are estimated at approximately 2.65 gallons of ethanol per bushel for a wet mill process and 2.75 gallons per bushel for a dry mill process. For the 2003-05 period, net feedstock costs for a wet mill plant are estimated at about $0.40 per gallon with total ethanol production costs estimated at $1.03 per gallon. Net feedstock costs for a dry mill plant are estimated at $0.53 per gallon with total ethanol production costs at $1.05 per gallon. The theoretical yield of ethanol from sucrose is 163 gallons of ethanol per ton of sucrose. Factoring in maximum obtainable yield and realistic plant operations, the expected actual recovery would be about 141 gallons per ton of sucrose. Using 2003-05 U.S. average sugar recovery rates, one ton of sugarcane would be expected to yield 19.5 gallons of ethanol and one ton of sugar beets would be expected to yield 24.8 gallons of ethanol. One ton of molasses, a byproduct of sugarcane and sugar beet processing, would yield about 69.4 gallons of ethanol. Using raw sugar as a feedstock, one ton would yield 135.4 gallons of ethanol while refined sugar would yield 141.0 gallons. Sugarcane and sugar beet feedstock and processing costs were estimated for the 2003-05 period for the purpose of estimating the cost of producing ethanol using these feedstocks. The cost of converting sugarcane into ethanol was estimated to be approximately $2.40 per gallon based on 2003-04 sugarcane market prices and estimated sugarcane processing costs. Feedstock cost was estimated at $1.48 per gallon of ethanol produced, representing 62 percent of the total ethanol iii production cost. The cost of converting sugar beets into ethanol was estimated to be approximately $2.35 per gallon based on 2003-04 sugar beet market prices and estimated sugar beet processing costs. Feedstock cost was estimated at $1.58 per gallon of ethanol produced, representing 67 percent of the total ethanol production cost. These estimates may understate the relative profitability of converting sugarcane and sugar beets into ethanol, compared with processing sugarcane into raw sugar and sugar beets into refined sugar, due to price increases for raw and refined sugar in recent months following the hurricanes in Florida and Louisiana in 2005. While sugar production is expected to rebound in 2006/07, U.S. sugar prices will likely remain considerably above forfeiture levels. Molasses, from either sugarcane or sugar beets, was found to be the most cost competitive feedstock. Estimated ethanol production costs using molasses were approximately $1.27 per gallon with a $0.91 per gallon feedstock cost. Given the market prices of raw cane sugar and wholesale refined beet sugar in the United States, use of raw or refined sugar would be very costly to convert into ethanol. Ethanol production costs were estimated at $3.48 per gallon using raw sugar as a feedstock and were estimated at $3.97 per gallon using refined sugar. For these feedstocks, feedstock costs accounted for more than 80 percent of the total estimated ethanol production cost. The table below summarizes the estimated ethanol production costs for corn and sugar feedstocks in the United States, as well as sugarcane in Brazil and sugar beets in the European Union (EU). In the United States, corn is the least cost feedstock available for ethanol production. The cost of producing ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil is estimated at about $0.81 per gallon, excluding capital costs. Like corn in the United States, the relatively low feedstock cost of sugarcane in Brazil makes this process economically competitive. The economic feasibility of ethanol production in the EU from sugar beets is highly dependent on the negotiated price for sugar beets. Summary of estimated ethanol production costs (dollars per gallon) 1/ U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. U.S. Brazil E.U. Corn Corn Sugar Sugar Molasses Raw Refined Sugar Sugar Cost wet dry cane beets 3/ sugar sugar Cane Beets Item milling milling 3/ 3/ 4/ 4/ Feedstock 0.40 0.53 1.48 1.58 0.91 3.12 3.61 0.30 0.97 costs 2/ Processing 0.63 0.52 0.92 0.77 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.51 1.92 costs Total cost 1.03 1.05 2.40 2.35 1.27 3.48 3.97 0.81 2.89 1/ Excludes capital costs. 2/ Feedstock costs for U.S. corn wet and dry milling are net feedstock costs; feedstock costs for U.S. sugarcane and sugar beets are gross feedstock costs. 3/ Excludes transportation costs. 4/ Average of published estimates. Estimates of capital expenditure costs to construct facilities to utilize sugarcane or sugar beets to produce ethanol would be expected to be higher than capital costs for corn-based ethanol plants primarily due to higher feedstock preparation costs. A 20 million gallon per year ethanol plant using sugarcane or sugar beets as a feedstock would be expected to have capital expenditure iv costs in the range of $2.10 to $2.20 per gallon of annual capacity, compared to an estimate of $1.50 per gallon of annual capacity for a corn-based facility. The addition of an ethanol plant onto an existing sugarcane or sugar beet factory, to utilize cane or beet juice or molasses, would have a much lower capital expenditure cost making it more comparable with corn. Economies of size have been shown to exist in corn-based ethanol plants and the same would be expected for sugar-based ethanol plants. The optimal location of an ethanol processing facility is largely dependent on being in close proximity to its feedstock supply, regardless of which feedstock is being utilized. This has been proven with corn-based ethanol in the United States as well as sugar-based ethanol in Brazil. Corn-based ethanol plants in the United States are located close to large supplies of corn, primarily in the Midwest, to minimize feedstock transportation costs. Ethanol facilities utilizing sugar or molasses would be most economical if located at or near sugarcane or sugar beet processing facilities. Major conclusions from this study relative to the economic feasibility of using sugar crops as a feedstock for ethanol production in the United States are: • It is economically feasible to make ethanol from molasses. The cost of that feedstock is low enough to make it competitive with corn. Challenges may involve having a large enough supply of molasses at a given location to minimize transportation costs to justify construction and operation of an economically efficient ethanol production facility. • The estimated ethanol production costs using sugarcane, sugar beets, raw sugar, and refined sugar as a feedstocks are more than twice the production cost of converting corn into ethanol.
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